Hey all!  A few of you have shot me messages asking what's happened to me.  I appreciate the concern, but it's nothing alarming; just needed a break from STC for a while.  From a lot of things, really, just to get life's priorities straightened out a bit.  Job relocation and taking on a mortgage being chief among them, but the most significant news is that I'm engaged!  Yep, the knot's tentatively set to be tied next year, likely in late May or early June.  I'm still reeling from the notion of marriage, and days have been spent teetering between unbridled excitement and gut-wrenching nervousness -- which I suspect will only escalate when the time draws nearer.  But it feels right on all counts.

With a lot of these life-altering events going on, I've been trying to keep up with the recreational stuff.  Just gonna do a brief run-through of what I checked out this year.  If I'm covering topics well-worn in other threads, I apologize; I've been seriously out of the loop.

2012 has been a major disappointment for movies.  I missed out on a few must-sees, but the ones I have seen all came up short of expectations.  Thank goodness for sleeper hits like Chronicle, The Raid: Redemption, and ParaNorman.  I also enjoyed 21 Jump Street, and the Ace Attorney movie wasn't bad, but I'm still hoping these last few months will deliver a film that will truly knock my socks off.  Potential candidates?  Skyfall, The Hobbit, Les Misérables, and Django Unchained.  I'm thinking Dredd, Looper, and The Man with the Iron Fists might be fun too.

But the series I'm now hopelessly enamored with is "Game of Thrones."  After finishing up Seasons 1 and 2, I bought up and tore through all five "A Song of Ice and Fire" books, the graphic novel, and cleaned out half the merchandise at the HBO Store. (Yes, I'm actually the proud owner of a dragon egg paperweight.)  While the quality of the writing tends to fluctuate from book to book ("A Feast for Crows" was a slog compared to the mind-blowing page turner that was "A Storm of Swords" for instance), the overall story's WTF-laden twists, turns, and betrayals are downright irresistible.  HBO's been doing a phenomenal job with the television adaptation, and I'm expecting great things from the upcoming Season 3.

I also allowed myself to watch and complete an anime series, something I haven't done in an age.  "Fate/Zero" is ridiculously awesome.  Now I'm sorely tempted to watch its predecessor "Fate/stay night."  Does anyone give it a recommendation?

Been going relatively light on the gaming side.  Still rocking Super Street Fighter IV whenever I can.  I picked up Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, which really didn't grab me until I unlocked the Ultimate Score versions of songs -- from there, the challenge ramps up to frantically mad levels of fun.  It's a shame the Prologue and Epilogue tracks didn't get their own designated levels, and there's just way too small a selection throughout the Chaos Shrine mode. (I'm gonna scream if I hear "The Sunleth Waterscape" or "Fight With Seymour" repeat one more time.)  I've only dabbled in Xenoblade, so I haven't formulated an opinion just yet, but the "Gaur Plains" theme is something magical.  I downloaded Mark of the Ninja on XBLA, and from what I've played, it looks to be stealth gaming personified.  So much fun.

(By the way, I had to replace my PS3 some months back, and in the process, I might have lost some of you guys on my Friends list.  Feel free to add me again if you'd like.)

As far as upcoming titles go, I'm being cautiously optimistic about Resident Evil 6, but honestly, I can't help but feel my time would be better spent just playing through RE4 again. (You really can't top perfection.)  BioShock Infinite and The Last of Us aren't this year, are they?

And that's about it!  For now, at least.  Guess I'll go thread exploring for a bit, but I hope everyone's doing well!

Congrats on all your life news! 

What is your PSN id?  I'm DrWho2007.  (It's the year i got the PS3 sue me.)  =p

Fate/Zero is quite a good piece of work but Fate/Stay Night is another beast altogether.  I would say it's not as well paced or as compelling a series.  If anything, try out the Unlimited Blade Works movie first before tackling the tv series.  It's a different story line but it'll give you a quick and dirty look at the 5th Grail war before committing to the 24 ep tv series.

i'm wanting to see that Ace Attorney live action movie... they showed it in New York right?

-edited some of my crappy wording choice from late at night. =p

good to have you back.

i read through all the GoT books last summer. the recent volumes were not as good, but good enough to keep me interested. i'm not planning to watch the TV series.

Good to hear your life isn't over yet...at least not till next summer

Welcome back, Angie!
I've been occasionally checking your activity on PS3, and you seemed to log in regularly, so I wasn't particularly worried about anything happening to you

Congrats on the engagement!
And welcome to the club, I suppose, haha.

Did you see The Avengers? Surely that wasn't a disappointment!?

And rightly so. I tore through the books when I first found out about them as well, and they're just brilliant reads. It's generally agreed upon that Feast for Crows was the weakest entry and most people seem to like Storm of Swords best, for obvious reasons.
I really enjoyed Dance with Dragons as well, personally, although I'm really starting to have trouble keeping account of who's who and what they're trying to do and why.

I've been wondering what a rhythm game vet like you would think of Theatrhythm, and it doesn't surprise me to hear that the game doesn't offer much of a challenge to you outside of Ultimate. For me it was perfect though, and I really felt like I gradually grew better at the game.

As for Xenoblade, no need to form your own opinion. It's fantastic.
You're welcome.

Knew it was something to do with marriage.

yuck. sure, I read all the press and watched video footage from the game, but TBH, it was your opinion I read about the game that made me decide to buy it.

Why, I am honored!
Too bad you didn't like it...

She's ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats on the engagement! Yes, I'm also surprised Avengers wasn't mentioned. And no Dark Knight Rises? Looper does look pretty great from the trailers. Really hoping that's going to be good. And you need to see Dredd. I found it to be a real treat and I loved it.

I love Theatrhythm but I find the same as you with the Chaos Shrine - the selection is too small. I think it was a real misstep not to integrate the DLC songs into that mode.

I've heard that Shiro is a weak protagonist; I just wonder if that's a virtue of him being an adolescent?  Part of the reason why I liked Fate/Zero was how 'adult' the overall feel is.  With younger characters like Rin and Illyasviel now in the spotlight, I'm curious how much that affects the tone of the story? 

Yep, they premiered it here at the New York Asian Film Festival this summer.  It played to an enthusiastic crowd; the word "Objection!" was bantered about quite freely, its most effective use being when the projector went out for a scant couple of seconds.   Also.... Ace Attorney 5!!

It should be interesting to see how they plan on streamlining the TV series from this point on.  While Season 1 was pretty much a beat-for-beat adaptation of Book 1, the showrunners have gone on record in stating that they'll be tackling future seasons as a series whole, rather than following a book-to-season ratio.  I'm delighted that they're splitting the mammoth-sized Book 3 into Seasons 3 and 4, but actually condensing Books 4 and 5 into a shorter period might do the story a world of good.  Their timelines run more or less parallel with one another, and it'd be a great opportunity for them to strip out some of the more superfluous details to make way for a leaner, more concise narrative.

Heh, wedding bells slash death knell, is that the way of it?   Either way, let 'em ring!

It wasn't a disappointment per se, but it didn't blow me away like it did most folks.  I'm happy the Marvel Cinematic Universe culminated into such a cohesive whole, and that the film's become such a critically acclaimed and box office hit, but I dunno..... it started losing steam for me somewhere near the halfway mark, right around the climax of the Helicarrier sequence, up to the ending.  Alan Silvestri's music score was a big letdown too.  I will say this, though: it was one hell of a funny film.  Snappy dialogue and great rapport amongst the main cast made it so.

Yeah, between the geographically bifurcated narratives, there's a whole lot to take in.  Surprisingly, I found myself keeping it all straight -- a testament to GRRM's excellent knack for world building -- but some POV characters undeniably have more interesting narratives than others.  Westeros has the lion's share of the good ones, while Essos's just seems to flounder.

Yep, I saw your Dredd thread just after posting.  I'll see if I can't post impressions once I see it.  Can't wait!

As for Dark Knight Rises, I liked it well enough, but it's definitely bottom-tier Nolan for me.  It's a strange thing to say about a Batman movie, but for lack of a better description, this one felt a bit too 'comic booky.'  (At least when compared to its grounded, more crime drama-esque predecessors.)  Pacing was an issue too, and I found myself loving certain moments whilst disliking others. (A Nolan first for me; I usually find his movies to be engaging from start to finish.)  It was a treat in IMAX though, and when pitting its action-packed third act against The Avengers', there's no contest: TDKR takes home the prize.

I agree with this. I thought the movie was a blast the first time but on a second watch, it does lose a lot of energy midway through, no matter how well-made the big finale is. And as average as Silvestri's score is, there's at least a few highlights in there, like the Helicarrier Intro and the big heroic montage near the end. It's still not as good as his Captain America score, which itself isn't as good as his hits pre-2000 work.

Haven't seen The Dark Knight Rises yet. For some reason, I just missed out on it. I'll be waiting for Blu-ray.

Congrats on your engagement ! Everything should work out

Engagement......Just stay single you'll save more money and have true freedom.

I'll be honest I'm not going to say congrats because it's probably going to be a doomed marriage like most.

Wow you just handily won the award for obnoxious post of the month.

Marriage is for some couples and isn't for others; not sure what kind of personal issues you're bringing to the table but unless you're privy to some fairly personal information regarding Angela and her fiancee it seems in pretty awful taste to make such a negative and judgmental statement about a happy development for someone else.

Anyway, welcome back Angie.  Glad you're doing well.

Go back to bed, Bern.

Marriage is awesome.

I'm starting to think at least half of all the posters here are the same guy.

Do they give out awards for being douchebags? How many do you have, exactly?

Someone's not getting invited to the wedding.

Man, and I thought I was a bitter and cynical douche. (I still am of course!)

Congrats on the engagement! And nice to see you around again. I always enjoy reading your film and Ace Attorney posts. Fate/stay night is worth watching, but definitely different (and not as good) as Fate/Zero. I actually appreciate it more after seeing Fate/Zero. It gives the series a little extra background and depth. I haven't seen the Bladeworks film, but I really want to. It's probably the best of both worlds.

Any extra thoughts on Ace Attorney 5? I was pretty stoked at first, but then I started hearing more about it: Phoenix is the protagonist, he has a completely new assistant, and Takeshi Yamazaki is directing. Serious disappointment ensued. Not to mention that the game might not even make it out of Japan because Capcom is pure evil. So many mixed feels about the whole thing. D:

Anyway, welcome back!

i was also going to be in the school play 'Condiments around the World',, but i got kicked out for a scuffle with the sauerkraut...

after reading these posts, she must be like, "Why oh why God did I come back here? These guys are jerks" (some of them anyway)

that was attempt to lighten the mood.

hi, Angela, Im new member hear, we've never met, but congratulations on your marriage/engagement! good to see/hear you here!

nothing new or interesting going on w/ me, unfortunately.

Welcome back!  Great to see you, and congratulations!  Ignore the hate - I promise there are still nice people here, too. 

OMG these are so amazing.  I decided to start with the books, and I'm only 2 in (ugh work and life and whatnot), but LOVE it so far.  I've watched some of the first season of the show, which is ridiculously entertaining as well.  Weird how they up-aged all the kid characters (typical of TV), but I can cope.

Anyway, sorry my reply to this is short and lame, but that's kind of how most of my contributions are to this place lately.  >_<

I thought that was weird too, but apparently it was Martin's own idea, because, in hindsight, he thought that he had made the children/teenage characters a bit too young.

Having attended many weddings myself as a guest and a worker (because of my job), it seems like a pretty simple process to me. That doesn't mean I understand them, anymore than I understand baptizing. I've considered marriage in the past and even made attempts to do so, but I don't see how it could improve my life, since I look forward to those days when I can finally escape people and read books. Even casual relationships are incredibly complicated and require extensive knowledge (it interferes and conflicts with my independent studies; it is a Herculean effort for me to remember someone's birthday, for example). If everyone were like me, then we just wouldn't be here. So marriage capable people are essential so that I may continue reading books.

It probably would (with respect to gaming - not marriage - in case you misread me).

Congrats on all of your major life news! Very exciting. Owning a home is a pain in the ass, but not having to share walls with strangers is pretty amazing. As for your engagement, I wish you luck. Maybe I'm just weird, but I've found that being in a relationship isn't any more satisfying than being single. You just trade one set of issues for a completely different set. Oh well.

Agreed there.

I've only seen the show, but I love, love, love the show. It's the best TV show I've seen in ages, and I cannot wait for March 31.

I really like what they're doing with the gameplay, but the Saturday morning cartoon art really turned me off. I might get it when it goes on sale.

I encourage you to play the demo for RE6. That should put a nice, quick end to your misplaced optimism.

Nope. BSI is 2/26/13 and The Last of Us doesn't have a hard date although it is expected sometime in Q1 2013.